Night: the Only Time of Day
by Life is Pandemonium
Summary: CHAPTER 17 UP! All he wanted to do was leave. Leave and fulfill his only dream: to go to Santa Fe. He had the perfect plan, but there's always something there to get in the way of everything.
1. Santa Fe, Wait for me

All he wanted to do was leave. Leave and fulfill his only dream: to go to Santa Fe. He had the perfect plan, but he just couldn't get away with it. All his planning, all his hard work, and where did it land him? Well, lets just say not in Santa Fe...

**Thank you everyone for your characters! I will try to use all of them (try being the key word here). **

**And now, the story... drum roll please!**

The streets were dark and damp. There was no light. Just darkness. The streetlamps blew out in the violent storm that had just passed, and no one had even bothered to try to fix them at this time of night.

The streets were empty, with the exception of one person: a newsie. He was sitting with his back against a brick building, blowing smoke from his cigarette into the moist air. From his back pocket, he took out a thin paper book. He opened it up, letting a train ticket fall out. He took the ticket and closed the book. The boy looked at it long and hard. He was unable to make out the words on it in the darkness, but he knew what it said.

The newsie let his head fall back against the cold bricks and closed his eyes.

_Santa Fe…. Wait for me…. _

The boy sat there for a moment until he heard the sound of thunder. He opened his eyes suddenly and realized that another storm was going to pass over. He quickly put the ticket back into the book, which he then rolled up and stuffed into his back pocket.

Upon standing up, he placed a cowboy hat that was resting on his back on top of his head and headed back for the lodge. He wanted to get there before any of the others woke up.

--------------------

No one at the lodge had gotten any sleep during the first storm. Although each of them lay awake in their beds, they were still and silent. They were all very tired from the rough past week of selling. None of them made a sound, save a yawn or the sound of the rain that leaked through the roof being caught in tin buckets, but even these noises were barely heard over the claps of thunder and the wind roaring outside.

Jack Kelly turned over in his bed and wrapped his cotton blanket tighter around his shivering shoulders. No matter how hard he tried, he could not escape the cold air the was lingering in the bunk room. He hugged his pillow and closed his eyes.

_I guess we's aint gonna be sellin tamorra…_ he thought.

Once the storm had finally begun to pass, the newsies all quickly went to sleep; all except Jack. He was unable to get back to sleep, and that is when he decided to go out for a walk.

-----------------

Ok, there we go for the first chappy! I know that none of the new characters are in it yet, but they do come in in later chapters, I promise you that. Its just that I finished this one and I wanted people to get a feel for the story. Remember, CASTING CALL is still opened:

**Name:**

**Newsie Name:**

**Age:**

**Gender:**

**Looks:**

**Interests:**

**Personality:**

**Newsie you'd like to be with:**

**Anything else you'd like to add: **


	2. Plagued by Puddles

**Ok, I finished another chapter. One of our MANY new characters makes an appearance in it! Woo hoo! Enjoy! (CASTING CALL is still opened)**

Now that another storm was coming, he knew that the others would be waking up once again.

As he was walking back, the rain started to fall again. Lightly at first, tickling the back of his neck as it hit him, but then it soon started to downpour again. Instead of going straight down the street toward the lodge, he turned and went up a few streets, ending up in front of Irving Hall.

Jack had always loved Irving Hall. He had known it all his childhood. He could always remember walking past and looking up with a dreamy look in his eyes at the woman whose picture was above the entrance.

_Medda Larkson… _Jack said to himself, reading the sign like old times as he approached it …_The Swedish Meadowlark…_

Being drenched in rain and having a feeling that no one was inside, he walked to the back door of the Hall which was always left opened, and went in. The moment he entered, his nostrils filled with the lingering smells of liquor, smoke, and candy; the usual smells of Irving Hall that had been left over from the last show. Jack closed the door, blocking out the sound of the rain. It was then when he heard the soft, sweet sound of someone singing. He listened in for a little while, and then he realized who it was.

Jack walked up the stairs next to the door and walked out onto the dark stage. There, sure enough, he saw Lark sitting on the edge of it, her legs hanging over the side. Lark was his friend, and also a fellow newsie. He walked up behind her, not making a sound.

"Heya Lark" he called to her. She jumped a little, quickly stopping her singing and turning to face Jack. Once she saw it was him, she let out a laugh and sighed a sigh of relief.

"Jack Kelly, what are you doing here?" she asked, her speech practically flawless. Unlike the newsies, Lark lacked an accent. She was quite proud of that, too. She brushed her short brown hair behind her ears and looked up at him, waiting for an answer. Jack shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep." he said as he walked beside her. "Rain kept me up."

"So you came here?" she asked with a tilt of her head and a raise of an eyebrow. Jack sat down on the edge of the stage.

"Yea. I was walkin around. Rain started commin down harda, so ise came in hea."

"Oh."

"Yea." Jack said. "Anyway, what bring yous hea? Ise don't rememba yous commin back ta da lodge tonight. Out sellin dis long?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. I was filling in for one of Medda's girls tonight. She was short one and asked me to come in." Lark replied. "The show went on longer than I thought. We did so many encores. It was great! We didn't end until after 12. I didn't want to go back to the lodge and disturb anyone who was sleeping, so I just thought I'd stayed here for a while." Jack gave a little laugh.

"You wouldn't 'ave distoibed no one. We were all awake. Storm kept everyone up."

"Oh. So you weren't the only one the rain kept up, huh?" she asked. Jack shook his head.

"Nope."

The clock in the lobby of Irving Hall rang, and echoed to the stage. Both Jack and Lark sat there, counting how many times it rang. _one… two… three… _Lark's eyes widened.

"Oh no! Its three already?" she exclaimed. "Great! Not only am I going to be completely sore selling the papers tomorrow, but now im going to be half asleep!" with that, she leapt off the stage where she was sitting and hurriedly went over to one of the tables to grab her jacket that she had left on it.

"I wouldn't rush yaself too much" Jack said to her as he also got off the stage and walked over to the table. He stood quite a bit taller than her. "Don't think wes gonna be sellin tomorra. Streets'll probably be flooded out." Lark slowed down her pace.

"Your probably right." she said. She then sighed. "No money tomorrow, then. Guess im not going to be eating."

"You and da rest'a us" Jack said as they both walked out to the lobby. Lark then put on her jacket and they both walked out of Irving Hall into the pouring rain.

"I think we picked a bad time to leave!" Lark yelled over the sound of the storm as she was pelted with raindrops.

"Yea! Maybe if we run, it wont be so bad!" Jack yelled back. Lark nodded and the two bolted down the road through the puddles and mud, getting completely drenched. To the left and right, they ran passed alleyways filled with orphans and homeless people trying to shelter themselves from the storm.

Unable to hear any other sounds other than the rain and thunder, the two of them did not hear the sound of a full speed horse-drawn wagon that was about to turn around the corner. Lark, being a little ahead of Jack, ran across the street before it came. As Jack was about to cross, he turned to the side to face the wagon that was coming head-on to him. His eyes widened, and he realized that the driver did not see him through the rain, and also because of the fact that his dark clothing made him blend in with the surroundings. He jumped out of the way seconds before being run over, and ended up falling back into a puddle.

Lark turned around and realized that Jack was no longer behind her. She then looked down the street and saw him in a puddle. With a slight laugh, she turned and ran back to him. When she got to him, she helped him up and laughed.

"Smooth Move, Kelly!" she said to him. Jack shook his head at her and smirked. They turned to start to run back to the lodge again, but something that was floating in the puddle caught Lark's eye.

"Jack, I think you dropped something" she said as she leaned down and picked up Jack's book that he kept in his back pocket. It had fallen out as he hit the ground.

Jack turned to see what Lark had found just as she picked it up. As she handed it over to him, his train ticket fell out and landed in the water again.

"What's that?" Lark asked with a raised eyebrow as Jack rapidly scrambled to pick it up. He then quickly shoved it into his pocket before Lark could tell what it was.

"N- Nothing! Nothing!" he said quickly. Lark gave him a don't-give-me-that-bull-Jack-Kelly-I'm-not-stupid look, but he brushed it aside and acted like nothing had happened. "C-Come on! Lets get back to the Lodge" he said. He then took off running, leaving Lark with her hands on her hips and watching him run off.


	3. Hidden in the Washroom

**Ok, the CASTING CALL is still opened to anyone who wants to add in their character. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed! Much appreciated: ) Anyway, here's the third chapter:**

------------------------

As Jack Kelly was coming up to the lodge, he saw a fairly tall silhouette off in the distance. He watched it for a moment, and then realized that whoever it was was coming his way. He stopped and squinted his eyes to see who it was, but it was practically impossible to see through the violent rain. It wasn't until a light was cast on the silhouette, revealing a newsie with coffee colored skin, that Jack was able to recognize who it was.

"Jack, where ya been?" Shay yelled over the rain. Shay was another Manhattan newsie. He was also an older cousin of Boots. Although the two were related, their looks were quite different, such as in the tone of their skin. You see, Shay was of African American _and_ Irish decent, so his was a bit lighter.

"Just around" Jack yelled over the rain as he pushed his sopping wet hair out of his face. The rain continued to downpour, violently landing on the two newsies, so the they started walking back to the lodge.

"Just around, huh?" Shay asked.

"Yea. Took a walk after da second storm. Left 'round one." Jack said as they were under the cover of the porch of the lodge. They walked over to the door and Jack opened it up, and the two quickly made their way inside the lodge.

"So you just walked around fer an hour?" Shay asked with a raised eyebrow. Jack shook his head.

"Naw. Went ta Irving Hall an met up wit Lark der. Stayed there for a while and den wes came back" Jack replied.

"Oh." Shay said. He then looked out the window of the front door. "What ya do, stuff 'er in ya pocket? She aint hea wit ya." he said jokingly. Jack gave a laugh.

"Naw. We, uh… we had a race back hea. Guess I beat her." Jack said, deciding not to tell him about the incident with the book and the ticket. He knew that if he told Shay about it, Shay would ask questions. Jack didn't want to deal with the reactions to the answers to those questions.

"Oh, ok" Say said raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yea… so, what I miss while I was gone?" Jack asked quickly changing the subject. Shay shrugged.

"Nuttin really at all. Most'a da newsies went back ta sleep. No one really woke up wit da second storm 'cept me. Dey all really tired I guess"

"Oh."

"Yep. I was up lookin fa someone else dat was up also, an saw dat yous wasn't der. Seein dat ise had nuttin ta do, ise thought I'd go an look fa ya." Shay said. "Anyway, ise goin out fa a smoke. Ya wanna come?" Jack shook his head.

"Naw, I'm soaked. I'm gonna go change an see if I can get any sleep in." he said. Shay nodded and then walked outside onto the porch of the lodge.

To Jack's surprise as he walked up the old wooden staircase to the bunkroom, his ears were not met by the familiar hum of voices. Shay was right. Although the rain deafeningly pounded atop the roof above them, the newsies were still asleep. Jack gave a laugh at the sound-sleepers and headed over to his bunk. He grabbed a clean set of clothing from his dresser, and walked into the washroom. He went into a stall and changed out of his dripping wet clothes. He walked out and made his way over to the sinks and placed his wet clothes over the side of one for them to dry off. As he put his pants over the side, he reached into the pocket and pulled out his train ticket. He gave a sigh of relief, seeing that the water didn't damage it too badly. Although it was damp, he could still make out what it said.

He took the ticket and walked to the back of the washroom. He looked back into the bunkroom, making sure that no one was awake. Seeing that nobody was, Jack reached between the wall and the end sink and brought out a rusty tin box. He sat down on the ground with his back to the wall and opened up the tin. He lightly put the top on the ground. It made a slight noise, so he shot his head up to see if it had woken up anyone. The coast was once again clear, so he turned his gaze back to the box. He pulled out a tattered piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a letter. He read it over the best that he could in the darkness. He had gotten the letter a month ago. It had been mailed to the lodge house. That morning, when Kloppman announced that someone had gotten a letter, everyone shot awake. No newsie in the lodge ever got mail. That's mainly because most people the newsies knew didn't know how to write, and those who did would never have a reason to write to one of them. Kloppman made his way around the room, taunting the newsies with the letter, each curious as who it was for. He finally stepped up to Jack's bed. _"To Mr. Jack Kelly," _Kloppman had read off the letter. He then looked at Jack and handed it to him. Immediately, Jack was swarmed by all the newsies. Before anyone else could see it, Jack read the return address. His eyes widened slightly in worry. It was from the state prison. There was only one person that Jack knew in the prison. Well, at least one person he _thought_ he knew. Jack hid the letter once the newsies encircled around him, giving them a smirk to cover up his uncertainty and telling them that it was his 'personal business'. He didn't know if he would want the others to know what the letter said, so he decided to open it later, and when he did, he was glad none of the others saw it. The newsies soon lost interest in it over the days, so it didn't matter that Jack never told them.

Jack gave an uncertain sigh at the letter and folded it back up. He then placed it back in the box, along with the train ticket, and then put the lid back on. He got up from the ground and placed the box back in its hiding place. As he stood back up, he looked into the mirror above the sink and jumped as he saw the reflection of someone standing behind him. He quickly turned around and faced a frizzy-haired, red-headed newsie.

"What da hell ya doin, Lo, tryin ta give me a heart attack?" Jack asked the curious Irish girl standing in front of him. She raised an eyebrow.

"No. I was thirsty, so I got up to get a drink. Is that such a crime?" Logic asked, jokingly putting her hands on her hips.

"As of now, yes!" Jack said sarcastically, still a little startled. Lo gave a laugh.

"Anyway, what were ya doin on the ground?" she asked, tilting her head to see if she could see anything between the wall and the sink where Jack was just getting up from. Jack stood in front of it, blocking Logic's view.

"I was killing a spider!" he answered a little too quickly. Logic raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged it off. Had she not been so tired, she probably would have asked more questions.

"Alright, well, I'll let you bet back to your… spider…" Logic said with a yawn. She then decided that she was more tired than thirsty, so she headed off to her bunk and fell back asleep.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away. He looked back to his at his hiding place, making sure that there was no trace that there was anything there. He nodded in approval and decided to retire to his bed for the night.

------------------------

**Hmmm… Jack Kelly… hiding something, are you? Haha, ok well I hope you liked it! R&R please!**


	4. Don't Say Anything

**Hey… sorry I havent written anything in a while… been pretty busy. Anyway, I had a little time today, so I decided to write some. Sorry its so short. I'll try to get some more writing in this weekend when I have time… anyway, here's chapter number 4:**

Shay stood outside of the lodge house, his back against the cold bricks. He took a long drag on his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke. The rain was starting to finally let up, and the thunder wasn't as loud anymore. Shay stood there, thinking about Jack and his strange behavior lately. He had noticed a change in his friend over the past weeks. Jack seemed to be hiding something… big. As Shay thought to himself, Lark was finally coming back to the lodge.

"Heya Lark" Shay said as she walked onto the porch.

"Hey" she said as she wrung out the water from her short brown hair. "Jack get back yet?" Shay nodded.

"Yep. Little while ago. He beat ya, huh?"

"What?"

"The race. He said he was racing you back to the lodge."

"No he wasn't."

"He wasn't?" Sway asked, getting confused. Lark shook her head.

"No. Well, we _were_ running here, but there was no 'race' back to the lodge." she said. She then shook her head. "There's something up with that boy. And I'm not joking, either." Shay nodded.

"So you noticed too, huh?" he asked. He then took another drag on his cigarette.

"He's hiding something, I know he is!" she said. "Before, when we were running, one of those books that he reads all the time fell out of his pocket."

"And that shows he's hiding something… how?" Shay asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"No, not that part, the next part" she said. "I picked it up for him, and when I handed it to him, something fell out of it."

"What was it?"

"I couldn't really see _exactly_ what it was, but I think it was a ticket… a train ticket, perhaps."

"A train ticket?" Shay said, sounding interested. Lark nodded.

"Yes! I know it sounds weird, but it looked just like one. He then jumped at it and picked it up before I could _really_ see it." Lark said. Shay then snubbed out his cigarette on the ground.

"Maybe 'es thinking bout leavin da city?"

"That's what I'm thinking, but why?" Lark asked. "I mean, if he wanted to leave, wouldn't he tell us?" Shay shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe 'e don't wanna tell no one so no one can make 'im change 'is mind about goin 'er somethin?"

"I don't know. And another thing, how could he ever be able to afford a train ticket in the first place? I mean, he's a newsie, like the rest of us, and I highly doubt he's made enough money for a ticket to go _anywhere_. Especially the way he gambles with it with the others and loses it all the time."

"Maybe he snatched da ticket off'a someone?" Shay put in. Lark shook her head.

"I doubt it. I never really see him steal from anyone. The last thing I saw him steal was a cigar from Race, and that's a long way from stealing someone's _train ticket_."

"Who knows, its still possible. Maybe 'e told Davey bout it? We could always ask 'im, 'er anyone else if dey know anytin bout it." Lark shook her head.

"I don't think we should go off and asking people about it. I don't want to go off and start rumors up about Jack. I say, unless someone says something about Jack, we don't say anything." Shay nodded.

"Good idea." he said. He then yawned. "Look, it's late. I think we better be gettin some sleep" he said. "I say we try ta find more out bout dis tomorra." Lark nodded in agreement.

"Alright" she said. They both then walked into the lodge. They walked up the wooden stairs and into the bunkroom. It seemed everyone was sound asleep, even Jack. As Lark was going over to her own bunk, she was called to by a whisper.

"Lark!" said the whispering voice. Lark shot her head around and found the whisperer.

"What is it, Lo?" she asked her. Lo sat up in her bunk.

"You jus comin in?" Lo asked as she gave a yawn. Lark nodded.

"Yea" she whispered back. "I was filling in over at Irving Hall. Finished really late."

"Oh," Lo whispered. She went back down and went to try to fall asleep again, but Lark stopped her.

"You see Jack when he came in?" she asked. Lo turned over in her bed.

"Yea. He was… killing a spider in the washroom or something…" She said, slowly drifting back to sleep. She yawned again. "Why?" Lark shrugged. She didn't want to get into the whole conversation about Jack with someone who was about to fall asleep on her, especially since her and Shay made a pact not to mention anything.

"Oh, no reason." she said. She wasn't sure if Lo had heard her because she had fallen back to sleep. Lark gave a laugh. She then went over to her bed and fell fast asleep.

**So yea, like I said, it was short… o well it was the best I could do right now… anyway, r&r please! And feel free to still enter a character into the casting call… that's all for now! Ctb!**


	5. Comin Down the Shoots

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been pretty busy these last few weeks, but schools ending soo, so I will have more time… hopefully… anyway, I finished another chapter, and this one is a longer one, so I hope you like! **

**--------------------------------------**

Morning came too quickly for the newsies, and despite their hopes of the streets being too flooded, Kloppman came to wake everyone up to sell. As he walked into the bunkroom, he could hear the light tapping of rain on the roof. One by one, the old man shook everyone awake, in return getting either cursed at or hit by pillows. He didn't mind this, though. The lighthearted lodge owner was so used to it that he laughed it off.

"Wake up! Wake up! The presses are rollin!" Kloppman yelled to all the tired newsies. Slowly, they began to sit up in their beds.

"You kiddin me? We ain't gonna sell nottin' in dis weatha!" Racetrack called out as he turned over in his bed, tightly wrapping his blanket around his shoulders.

"The rains letting up. Plenty'a people'll be out later." Kloppman said as he started to descend back down the stairs.

"Crazy old man" Race mumbled as he closed his eyes. Most of the others decided to get up, though.

"He's right, it is lettin' up." Marauder said with a yawn, looking out the window. She pushed her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears and then turned to Race, who was her current boyfriend.

"I don't care, I aint sellin taday!" Race grumbled back to her. She then walked over to him and stole his pillow from underneath his head.

"You don't sell, you don't eat!" she said with a smirk as she hit him in the face with it. Race flinched and then grabbed his pillow from her.

"Fine, den ise won't eat" he said hugging his pillow. Marauder gave a laugh and walked into the washroom, leaving Race to sleep.

Jack slowly got down from his bed and rubbed his eyes. Looking out the window next to his bunk, he yawned. As he gazed out, he started to replay the events of the previous night in his head.

_Did Lark see that it was a ticket? Did she read what was on it? Did she tell anyone? _

Jack started to drift into thought, but was quickly shaken back to reality when a pillow hit the back of his head and fell to the ground. He quickly turned around.

"Cowboy, zonin' out?" Boots asked with a smirk. Jack sighed and gave a laugh and picked up the pillow from the ground. He then walked over to Boots.

"A little" he said as he smacked Boots in the head with the pillow. He laughed and then walked into the washroom with the others, squeezing between Action and Kid Blink.

Each of the newsies crowded in the washroom around the sinks, getting ready for the day. Many of the male newsies (Jack in particular) were shaving, even though most of them had nothing to shave off.

"So Jack, whea you be headin off ta las night?" Action asked as he slicked back his black hair. Startled by the question, Jack's hand jerked, causing his raiser to slip and slightly cut his cheek.

"Ah, shit!" he said, quickly putting down the raiser and grabbing a nearby cloth to wipe his face with. Action raised an eyebrow as he finished up with his hair.

"You a'right der, Cowboy?" he asked. Jack nodded.

"Yea, jus a scratch." he said as he walked away. Kid Blink and Action watched him walk away, both with the same skeptical look plastered to their faces.

Jack walked over to a mirror to look at his cheek. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was a cut nonetheless. Looking in the mirror, Jack caught a glimpse of the others talking behind him. He knew that he was topic of their conversation by the way they kept glancing over at him. He rolled his eyes and walked out of the washroom and over to his bunk to get his cowboy hat off of his bedpost, and to get some money from a tin can next to his bunk.

Jack left the lodge before any of the others. The rain had finally stopped, but the streets were still pretty empty. He took a deep breath and started off to the circulation office. Along the way, he thought. He knew that he was acting rather strange in front of the others, but he knew he couldn't help it. He was hiding something from them, something big, and he didn't want anyone to find out what it was.

When he arrived at the circulation office, the gates were still closed. He put his hands on the bars of the gate as he looked inside, seeing the workers stacking papers. He knew that they would not open the gates for a while, so he decided to go off for a walk. He ended up walking over to Newsie Square. There was a big puddle at the base of the statue that was in the middle. Jack decided to sit on a bench and wait awhile until he could go and get his papers. He walked over to the bench, brushed off some water, and sat down. A cool breeze blew his hair in front of his face. He pushed his hair back and looked up at the sun in the sky. He smiled and then closed his eyes…

"_Papa's so proud of you and David. You should hear him talking about 'Jack Kelly, the strike leader' who occasionally takes his meals with us" _

"_Well this is one strike leada whose gonna be very happy when its all ova, and I can get outta hea an' go ta Santa Fe. I mean, there's nothing fa me ta stay fer, is there? Ya know, you should see Santa Fe. Everythin's different there. Its all bigger. Ya know, da desert, and the sky, and the sun…"_

"_It's the same sun as here."_

"_Yea, it jus looks different."_

Reality came back to Jack as he felt someone run up behind him and take his cowboy hat from around his neck. He quickly opened his eyes and turned around. He then smirked when he saw a small boy with his hat on, and another boy coming up behind him.

"Heya Cowboy! What ya doin out here by yaself?" asked Les as he walked to the front of the bench and sat next to Jack. He smiled up at him. Jack grinned and hit the hat over Les's eyes.

"Eh, I dunno. Jus getting some fresh air." Jack said. Les pushed the hat back up and smiled back at Jack.

"Fresh air in New York? Funny, Jack" David said sarcastically with a laugh as he reached the two on the bench.

"Heya Davey." Jack said. "So, why you guys out so early? Usually yous are da last ta come an get ya papes."

"Well, Papa woke up real early ta go ta work, and we woke up with him. Oh, did I tell ya that he got another job?" David said. Jack shook his head.

"Naw ya didn't, but hey, dats great! So, dis mean yous both gotta go back ta school?" Jack asked. David shook his head.

"Naw. Papa's new job doesn't pay as much as his last one, so we all still gotta work so we can make the rent. He's hopin' that he can still get his job back at the factory, though, because he thinks me an Les ought ta go back ta school."

"But we aint goin back, dats fer sure!" Les said, putting his 2 cents into the conversation. He then looked up at Jack's cheek. "What happened ta ya face?"

"Oh, dat? Jus cut meself shavin."Jack said. "Look, ise getting kinda hungry. Didn't eat dinna las' night cuz I couldn't sell in da rain. How bout wes go get sumtin from da nuns?" he asked as he stood up. Les stood immediately after.

"Alright" David said. The three then walked over to the wagon where the nuns were handing out bread and giving some newsies coffee. They met up with a few of the others as they got their bread.

"Hey Jack, why ya leave so early dis mornin?" Emerald asked as she took her cigar out of her mouth to take a sip of her coffee. Jack shrugged.

"I dunno. I jus finished earlier den the othas so I left."

"Oh" Emerald said as she put her cigar back in her mouth. She then put her newsie hat over her Black wavy hair and blew a cloud of smoke from the corner of her mouth.

The newsies heard the sound of a bell and turned to the circulation office. The gates were just opening and a few other newsies were just walking in.

"Comin' down da shoots!" Les said. The newsies then slowly made their way over to the distribution center and walked through the gates. They all lined up and got their papers from Mr. Muller, the old man that took over the office after Weasel was sent away after the newsies won the strike. Jack and David got their 100 papers, and Les got his 40, and the three then set off to sell.

_------------------------------------------_

**Ok, there we go. Hope you liked it. R&R please! And Casting Call is still open to anyone who hasn't already put in a character. Oh yea, and im working on getting everyone's , yes EVERYONE'S character in the story, so if your character isn't in it yet, keep reading, they will be soon!**


	6. Carry the Banner, Sell the Papes

**Finally! Im updating again! Yea, its been a while. Sorry bout that. I've been truly busy, but I found some time today, so I thought I'd start writing more. Hope you enjoy**

---------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe yer draggin me out here," Racetrack groaned. Marauder had him by the arm and was pulling him along to the distribution center.

"Well if I don't do dis, ya won't make any money, and den you'll be eatin off'a my plate of food in Tibby's again because you cant pay foa' ya own food !" Marauder said as she looked back at him and smirked.

The two rounded the corner and entered the gates into the distribution center. They were one of the last to arrive to get their papers, seeing as it took Marauder so long to drag Race out of bed and over to get his papers. As they walked up the ramp, they spotted Lark sitting on the edge looking through a newspaper. The two bought their papers and then walked over to sit next to her.

"Heya Lark," Race said as he plopped his papers next to him. Marauder did the same but took one of the papers to look through it.

"Anythin good today?" she asked Lark as she scanned the headlines, looking for one that looked the least bit catchy.

"There's a whole story about an ink factory that flooded out last night. It said that all the ink got into the water. A worked went in to check on it during the night, and when he opened the door, a river of red and blue water poured out," Lark said as she folded up the paper she was reading.

"A colorful river, eh?" Race asked, trying to come up with a catchy headline he could use in his head.

"Yeah. Other than that story, there's nothing."

"So, why ya sittin here all alone?" Marauder asked Lark as she looked up from her paper. Lark shrugged and picked up her papers that were at her side.

"Eh, I don't know. Just thinking," she said as she stood up.

"'Bout what?" Marauder asked.

"Ja-- eh, nothing really," Lark said, almost letting out her story about Jack and his ticket. "Well, we all better get selling before the others leave us with no customers."

Race and Marauder looked at each other with the same confused expression on their faces. Marauder then shrugged and hopped down off of the platform and took her papers. Race then followed.

The three headed down the street, selling papers as they walked. They had decided to head over to Sheepshead Bay over in Brooklyn… actually, it was Race's idea and Lark and Marauder agreed to it.

As they were coming up to the Brooklyn Bridge, they saw a two newsies in the distance standing at the end of the bridge, Manhattan side, selling papers. One of them dropped all of her papers. The three laughed, knowing exactly who they were: Trip and her eye patch-wearing boyfriend Kid Blink.

"Nice, Trip," Race said with a laugh to the newsie who dropped her papers as the three walked over. Trip was bright red.

"Oh, heya guys," Blink said as he and Trip bent down to pick up her papers.

"Hey Blink, Trip," Lark said. The two gathered the last of the papers and stood back up.

"Hey" Trip said. The redness started to leave her face. She noticed that all three of them had an almost full stack of papers. "Gettin off to a late start?" she asked. Marauder gave a laugh.

"Yeah. Took forever ta get Race outta bed and over ta get his papes. We met up wit Lark dere," she answered.

"Oh. So, where ya headed ta?" Blink asked.

"Sheepshead," Race answered. He then turned to his two companions. "An we betta get goin so I can place some early bets." Marauder rolled her eyes and gave a laugh. "Speaking of bets…" Race said as he turned to Blink. "Ya own me two bits." He held out his hand and smirked.

"Aw, come on, I'll just pay ya back tonight," Blink said. Race sighed.

"I dunno. Dis is a tough neighborhood. Don't know if I'll be here by da end of da day," Race said with a smirk.

"Well, in dat case, I don't see why I should even give ya da two bits," Kid Blink said, returning Race's smirk.

"Fine," Race said with a laugh, shaking his head.

"Alright, well I guess we'll see you guys lata," Lark said to Blink and Trip. Everyone said their Goodbyes and the three started across the bridge.

A quarter of the way across, a wagon passed by the three newsies. They all chased after it. When they reached it, they hopped on and road it the rest of the way across the long bridge.

As they road, Race and Marauder looked through their papers, finding headlines, and both working together to come up with catchy ones. Lark, on the other hand, started to zone out, beginning to think about Jack and his behavior lately. She wanted to know what was going on, and she needed to find a way to find out more.

_He had to have told someone about the ticket. _she thought to herself. _Maybe I can ask around… no, I can't. Shay and I promised not to say anything. Maybe… Maybe he said something to David! He always tells him everything… or… or maybe Spot! Yea, Spot! _

Lark and Spot had been going out for a while now, and it just happened that she was going to head over there after selling. She figured that she could ask him about it when she saw him.

_But I promised not to mention it to anyone… o well… Spot won't tell anyone. _

It was settled. She was going to ask Spot about it.

The wagon came to the end of the bridge, and the three hopped off and continued on their way to Sheepshead.

-------------------------------------------------------

**So, I hope you liked it! R&R please! **


	7. Eavesdropping in the Night

**Thank you to all my reviewers! I love getting feedback, good or bad! Anyway, I wasn't doing anything this morning, so I thought I'd come on and write some more! Hope you all like**

**---------------------------------------------**

Jack yawned as he and the Jacobs brothers made their way down the street, avoiding huge puddles that occupied the sidewalk. He took out one of his newspapers and waves it in the air.

"EXTRA! EXTRA! RAIN KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT!" he shouted out jokingly. David laughed and shook his head.

"I'll laugh if you sell any with that," David said.

"I'll laugh if you can sell any at all," Jack sarcastically shot back. He then smirked.

"Nice Jack, real nice." David said with a laugh. His little brother laughed also.

As the three walked on, the streets started to become filled with more and more people who were getting ready for a day of work. Among those people was another member of the Jacobs family: Sarah Jacobs. She was on her way to the factory with a basket of clothes in her hands. She was just the person Jack wanted to see. Just kidding.

"Oh, heya Sarah," David said as he waved to his sister. She smiled at him, but it soon faded when her eyes gazed over at Jack. Her pace then quickened and she put her head down as she walked past them. David and Les watched as she disappeared into the crowd of people.

Jack didn't look at her once. He couldn't anymore. Not since he broke it off with her. They had been going out since the end of the strike. About 8 months to be exact. Things were going fine with them, or so it seemed to others… and Sarah. The truth was, Sarah was really starting to annoy Jack. She was one of those really overprotective girlfriends. She constantly wanted to be with him, sometimes even hunting him down when she couldn't find him. This started to really bother Jack. He tried to put up with it, but after a while, he could stand it no more.

It was now about three weeks since Jack broke up with her, and Jack still couldn't bare to look at her, as she couldn't look at him. She was upset at him because not only did he break up with her, but he already had a new girlfriend: Wringer, a Brooklyn newsie.

Jack David and Les walked through a crowded street market, still selling their papers. While walking, they spotted Emerald. She was selling with Swifty, Itey, and Jake. No surprise there, though. Emerald was usually one to sell with the boys. The three made their way over to them.

"Heya guys," David said as they approached. Emerald turned and faced them.

"Oh, hey," Emerald said, taking out the cigar that she had in her mouth so she could talk.

"Whea yous headed to?" Swifty asked them as he sold a paper to a woman who was walking with her child. The lady gave him a nickel and told him to keep the change. He tipped his hat to her and thanked her.

"Irving Hall," Jack said as he shifted his papers to his shoulder. "We gonna see Medda afta wes sell."

"I just hope she doesn't attack me with that feather thing again," Les said, giving a fake shiver. The others laughed.

"Well, everyone's meetin ova at Tibby's later tonight. Afta yous see Medda, yous should meet us dere," Jake said to Jack David and Les. David shrugged.

"Eh, I dunno if me and Les can," He said. "Ma's makin a meatloaf tonight. I'd hate ta make her food go ta waste."

"Aww, come on Dave!" Les said looking up at him. He'd hate to turn down an invitation to hang with the other newsies. "Let's just go ta Tibby's. We don't gotta eat anything. Then afta, we can go back home and eat!" David shrugged.

"Eh, alright, I guess we can do that," David said. Les smiled wide. Jack laughed at how easily David caved.

"Well," Jack said, "We betta get goin if wes wanna catch Medda before she had a show. See ya lata."

"Alright, cya," Jake said. Everyone else then exchanged goodbyes and Jack, David, and Les continued on their way to Irving Hall. Itey watched them as they walked off.

"Is der sumtin up wit Jack?" he asked. The others turned to him, looking confused.

"What do ya mean?" Emerald asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"He seemed fine ta me," Jake shrugged.

"He seemed fine ta me, too," Itey said. The others then looked at him even more confused.

"Boy, what da hell you talkin bout?" Emerald asked him. Itey shrugged and turned back to him.

"Eh, nuttin," he said. "I just heard some people say dat dey think Jack's been actin weird. I don't think he is though."

"Who thought he was actin weird?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno. I think it was Shay and Lark. I heard two people talking outside last night."

"Really? What dey say?" Emerald asked him, getting interested in his story. Itey shifted his papers to under his arm.

"I dunno. Lark said something bout a ticket or something."

"A ticket?" Swifty asked.

"A train ticket?" Jake asked. Itey nodded

"I think so," he said. "She said something about Jack leaving."

"Jacks leaving!" Emerald asked as she started getting confused. Itey nodded.

"Dats what she said!" he said. "I'm not sure if they were right, though."

"Where he goin?" Swifty asked.

"I dunno," Itey answered. "Couldn't really hear dem." Emerald gave him a look.

"You sure you didn't just dream dis up?" she asked him, taking a puff from her cigar. Itey shook his head.

"No! I heard it with my own two ears!" he said. Emerald rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't think he's goin anywhere, and he seemed fine ta me!" she said.

"Yeah, he seemed fine ta me, too," Itey said. "Dats why I asked if yous thought he was actin weird, because I didn't think he was. He _seemed _like da same old Jack. I'm just wonderin bout der story."

"Look, I'll talk ta Shay later and ask him what's going on, but till den, don't be spreading rumors," Emerald told the others. They all nodded and then went back to selling their papers.

This talk of Jack leaving got Emerald thinking. Was Jack_ really_ leaving?…

------------------------------------------------------

**Ok, so there was chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it! R&R please! **


End file.
